Picture it...sun, about 80 degrees, a cool beverage, and a pontoon boat on a crystal clear Minnesota lake. That's how I spent my vacation and I guarantee Pete Carroll would have rather have been there than in Denver on Saturday night. I recorded the game while I was gone and sat down to watch last night. Thank goodness for the different levels of fast forward on the DVR. My biggest thought (and I know this is probably beating a dead horse at this point) was how in good conscience can Pete Carroll put James Carpenter at right tackle to start the season. I know he's a rookie, but this is now 3 games in a row where he's constantly being pushed backwards and way too often into our quarterback. You hate to admit it, but maybe Mel Kiper's hair was right, taking Carpenter that early was a mistake. If this keeps up, it's going to severly limit our offensive options, particularly if you have to keep a tight end like Zach Miller always in on protection. I did see some positives however. When rolling out of the pocket, Jackson looks like he can make some plays. Our defense, particularly in the 1st quarter, was pretty impressive. Even though Kyle Orton's a statue back there, they were able to get some pressure and drop him for a few big sacks. Red Bryant continued to show why we were the #2 run defense in the league before he went down with injury last year. Great seeing Clemons back on the field. Nice to see Jeff Reed drill a 52-yarder in his first attempt this preseason. As Geoff pointed out in his post, the greatest gift of the weekend was Kelly Jennings being sent to the NFL's worst run franchise, the Bengals. Something about that organization just screams Kelly Jennings. What we got back is really inconsequential. I would have settled for a bowl of 5-way chili. -Mark

These were the words uttered, yelled and screamed across the EWU practice field at the rookie CB Kelly Jennings by defensive coaches in the opening days of the 2006 Seahawks Training Camp. As Mark and I sat on the sidelines soaking up the sun with a few cold beverages admiring some of the skills demonstrated by Seahawks veterans and a few rookies, it became clear to us that the Hawks 2006 1st round draft pick, Kelly Jennings, was not going to be putting the fear in any offense. As time would tell his speed did improve, but his knack for getting beat did not, leaving the Seahawks in a trade on August 29th, 2011 with only 2 INT's to his name after 5 seasons.

Like any player that has ever donned the blue and green, we wish him well. And at the same time a bit relieved that we won't have to keep asking why he is lined up on the right side of our defensive unit every game.

Whewww...3 posts and I'm exhausted. Time to re-charge the batteries. It's off to the land of 10,000 lakes to enjoy some quality time on the pontoon boat and even more quality time with brandy manhattans and Grain Belt's. And we may have a cheese curd or two at Thursday afternoon's Twins-Orioles game. Got the Hawks-Broncos game set on the DVR so will have some commentary when I get back. In the meantime, (in the words of Clark Griswold) if any of you are looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for me, I've got an idea: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2550350960.html

Ok, I realize we've only had this thing going for a few days, but I have to get something off my chest. Over the past number of years I've noticed a disturbing trend as I attend games at both Safeco Field and Seahawks Stadium. There are a growing number of fans who wear jerseys, t-shirts, etc. of either sports that aren't being played that day or of teams that aren't involved in the game you're watching. Look, I have no problem if I'm at a Mariners-Angels game and you come to the ballpark in your old school Chili Davis jersey. He was an Angel...you're watching the Angels. Does it rub me the wrong way when Sammamish Plateau Johnny-Come-Lately wears his Boston Red Sox jersey when the Sox are in town, even though he couldn't name 4 guys on the team? Yes, but at least he wears it only when the Sox are playing here. If you're going to stroll into Seahawks Stadium for a Hawks-49ers game, leave the old school John Elway jersey at home. If you're at a Mariners game, you're not impressing anyone in your piss-yellow Sounders jersey. Oh, excuse me, kit. For crying out loud, you're in America, it's a jersey. Click "Read More" below to continue...

Even though this is pretty much a futile effort since you can never predict things like injuries, I thought I'd volley in with some thoughts on the Seahawk schedule and how I think they might do this year. First off, it's a brutal road schedule. A lot of 10am Pacific time games which as we all know are the Seahawks kryptonite, regardless of coach or personnel. We get the NFC East and AFC North teams, two of football's toughest divisions. And for what seems like the 13th year in a row, we have to go to Chicago, which apart from Pittsburgh (Week 2's opponent) might have the worst field in the league. In any case, on to the predictions:

Week 1 - At San Francisco and America's Crappiest Stadium. Maybe a little optimistic, but I see a win. SF has a rookie head coach that's decided to hang on to the ultra-bust Alex Smith at QB. I think ultimately the 49ers can put some wins together but like the Hawks, they will suffer more heavily than most from the lockout.

So, first off, welcome to the new HawkStrong website. We hope this will add to your gameday experience and if I can add some entertainment through this blog, then all the better. We'll do our best to keep you all informed on the happenings in Hawk Alley along with musings about the Hawks in general. For those who don't know, Hawk Alley is a multi-block stretch of Utah St., one block west of 1st Ave S. as you head south from Safeco Field. Along with our neighbors down there, we put on pretty much the best tailgating show in Seattle. Food, drinks, music, satellite tv, games, and general tomfoolerly commence usually starting at 7am on home Seahawk gamedays. Often, it starts Saturday night with the number of campers and motorhomes that join us in the neighborhood. So, if you're so inclined, stop on by beginning September 25th as the Hawks take on the Cardinals. You'll know you're in the neighborhood when you see our friends from HawkOne in their one-of-a-kind RV. A few thoughts on the first couple preseason games. First the positives. I think the first-team defense has looked very good against the run, particularly against Minnesota considering they've got perhaps the best RB in the NFL. Even though it's against second and third-stringers, I think Charlie Whitehurst has had some flashes of brilliance, particularly on the touchdown drive in the 3rd quarter of Saturday night's game. But there are some definite areas of concern and it starts with Tarvaris Jackson. 2 games and no scoring when he's on the field is a problem. Granted, when you're having to run like you've got the bulls from Pamplona chasing you since your offensive line can't stop anyone, your chances of looking like a Pro Bowler drop dramatically. Second area of concern is the defensive backfield. Don Cheadle (aka Kelly Jennings, thanks Mitch Levy for the perfect description) continues to have trouble in coverage although it's not like anyone else is looking like world beaters either. So, hopefully we'll see some progress over the next few weeks, because the first quarter of the schedule this year looks pretty daunting. Anyway, hope you enjoy this site and will stop on by the tailgate at some point this year.

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